Despite the distinct 1980s New Age vibe emanating from Synchronicité's soul, the sixth album from French multi-instrumentalist Patrick Forgas is an ambient affair that manages to sound compellingly contemporary. Influenced by Britain's seminal Soft Machine and the Canterbury movement in general, Forgas (perhaps best known for his percussion skills) has crafted a seven-track CD that ambitiously attempts to musically illustrate the relationship between individual consciences and the cosmos. Consequently, Synchronicité is steeped in synthesizers and programming (with very little percussion) that recall Vangelis and Klaus Schulze. Keyboard loops, arpeggios and floating sounds lend the album an airy and jazzy feel accented with light percussion.
The songs on Synchronicité - all with French titles and all clocking in at longer than six minutes each - are based on the writings of French philosopher Jean Moisset's writings about synchronicity, which are excerpted in the liner notes. Moisset quotes Carl Jung and defines "synchronicities" as "meaningful coincidences, causeless correlations between our spirit and events which are part of the objective outside world." Fortunately, listening to Forgas' compositions is much easier on the brain than wading through Moisset's musings.
Synchronicité's intriguing artwork and handsome digipack enhance the album and provide soothing imagery while listening to Forgas' meditative and cathartic music.
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